According to the Food Outlook report of the Food and Agriculture Organization, food imports by vulnerable countries are expected to decline in 2023.

Recently, NITI Aayog and the United Nations in India signed the Government of India – United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027.

About the GoI-UNSDC framework:

• It represents the UN development system’s collective offer to the Government of India, in line with the national vision for development, for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting gender equality, youth empowerment and human rights. 
• It is built on four strategic pillars derived from the 2030 Agenda – People, Prosperity, Planet and Participation.
• The four interlinked pillars have six outcome areas focusing on Health and Well Being; Nutrition and Food Security; Quality Education; Economic Growth and Decent Work; Environment, Climate, WASH and Resilience; and Empowering People, Communities, and Institutions.
• It will have a specific focus on SDG localisation and South-South cooperation, in line with India’s leadership towards the implementation and acceleration of the SDGs; and India’s championing of South-South cooperation.
• The implementation and monitoring: It will be co-led by the Government of India and the United Nations, India through a Joint Steering Committee.

Russia has promised to eliminate legal and logistical hurdles preventing the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) from becoming the main transport route of Eurasia in the future.

About International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC):

• INSTC is a multi-modal transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and onward to northern Europe via St. Petersburg in Russia.
• The corridor includes seaports on the Persian Gulf and in the Caspian region, as well as road and rail routes.
• Aim: The main purpose of the corridor was to reduce carriage costs and transit time between India and Russia. The transit time is expected to reduce to almost half, once the corridor becomes fully functional.
• Development:
  • It was first mooted in 2000. The idea was to build a transport corridor linking Russia’s Baltic Sea coast to India’s western ports in the Arabian Sea via Iran.
  • Russia, India and Iran signed preliminary agreements to develop the 7,200-km-long International North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) in 2002.
  • Three years later, Azerbaijan signed up for the project.
  • This agreement was eventually ratified by 13 countries — India, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine.
• Route: The multimodal route begins in Mumbai, India and goes to Bandar Abbas and Bandar-e-Anzali in Iran, then crosses the Caspian Sea to reach Astrakhan, Moscow, and St. Petersburg in Russia

According to the Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit end of this year will adopt a Bangkok Vision 2030.

About Bangkok Vision 2030:

• Thailand presented “BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030” aiming to build a Prosperous, Resilient, and Open (PRO) BIMSTEC by 2030.
• The Vision sets a clear direction and priorities as well as a goal for BIMSTEC collaboration to tackle challenges and seize opportunities for the coming decade.
• The document aims to further promote BIMSTEC as a region of peace, stability, and economic sustainability.
• The goals found in the vision are also in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and Thailand’s bio-circular-green economic model.

Key facts about BIMSTEC

• It is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
• Member countries:Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal
• The Chairmanship of BIMSTEC rotates according to the alphabetical order of the English names of the Member States.
• During the Third BIMSTEC Summit, the Secretariat was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Recently, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said it would review all its membership conditions for India’s inclusion in the world’s premier energy monitoring organization.

About International Energy Agency:

• It is an autonomous inter-governmental organisation within the OECD framework.
• It works with governments and industry to shape a secure and sustainable energy future for all.
• It was founded in 1974 to ensure the security of oil supplies. 
• It was created in response to the 1973-1974 oil crisis when an oil embargo by major producers pushed prices to historic levels and exposed the vulnerability of industrialised countries to dependency on oil imports. 
• It consists of 31 member countries and eleven association countries.
• A candidate country to the IEA must be a member country of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD).
• Criteria for membership
  • Crude oil and/or product reserves are equivalent to 90 days of the previous year’s net imports, to which the government has immediate access (even if it does not own them directly) and could be used to address disruptions to global oil supply.
  • A demand restraint programme to reduce national oil consumption by up to 10%.
  • Legislation and organisation to operate the Co-ordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM) on a national basis.
  • Legislation and measures to ensure that all oil companies under its jurisdiction report information upon request.
  • Measures are in place to ensure the capability of contributing its share of an IEA collective action.
• India joined this organization in 2017 as an Associate member.
• Reports published by IEA: World Energy Outlook, World Energy Balances, Energy Technology Perspectives, World Energy Statistics and Net Zero by 2050.

Dubai Customs recently celebrated the graduation of participants from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) programme.

About United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):

• UNODC is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime, in addition to being responsible for implementing the United Nations lead programme on terrorism.
• It was established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention.
• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria 
• Functions:
  • UNODC works to educate people throughout the world about the dangers of drug abuse.
  • Strengthen international action against illicit drug production and trafficking and drug-related crime. 
  • It also works to improve crime prevention and assist with criminal justice reform in order to strengthen the rule of law, promote stable and viable criminal justice systems and combat the growing threats of transnational organized crime and corruption. 
  • In 2002, the UN General Assembly approved an expanded programme of activities for the Terrorism Prevention Branch of UNODC. The activities focus on providing assistance to States, on request, in ratifying and implementing the eighteen universal legal instruments against terrorism.
• Working:
  • UNODC has 20 field offices covering over 150 countries.
  • By working directly with Governments and non-governmental organizations, UNODC field staff develop and implement drug control and crime prevention programmes tailored to countries’ particular needs.
• Funding: UNODC relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments, to carry out the majority of our work